The source CNN article below joyfully quotes a gleeful Nancy Pelosi, “Today’s a great day for our country,” adding later, “It’s pretty exciting for us.” Do CNN and Pelosi really mean what they write or say in response to the Republicans pulling the health care bill? Likewise, congressional comments and carefully crafted titles like this one from CNN also confuse us, “victory”…whose victory, certainly not the American people.

How is this “a great day” and a “victory” when we are that much further from fixing an imploding health care system? And more confusing is who was Pelosi speaking for?

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara was recently removed from his position by President Trump. Mr. Bharara’s removal as a federal prosecutor (the top federal prosecutor in the state) is part of a new administration’s political purge. The last three Administrations have similarly removed federal prosecutors from district courts, with Janet Reno (U.S. Attorney General for President Clinton) eliminating all 93 district attorney’s in one day.

What makes this one different is that Mr. Bharara did not traditionally step down or resign, he was fired. The purge of political appointees usually goes unnoticed, but a defiant Bharara brought attention to his plight…and more. His choice of stepping down v. firing is no small matter. Especially in a highly contemptuous relationship between the White House, Democrats, and mainstream media. And as expected, both were quick to condemn the firing.

But was their condemnation fair and did it address the real problem; Poltical appointees and Mr. Bharara’s sense or misunderstanding of “duty?”

Radical Islamic terrorism is an ideology. It is a belief in an idea. And it is an identity to that idea. By adding the label “Radical Islamic” to terrorism, we change the way we think of it, how we fight it and more importantly who is responsible. Radical Islam is not new and over the centuries prompted everything from military campaigns (Crusades, Ottomans, etc.) to insurgencies (Algiers, Iraq, etc.), to today’s terrorism (Paris, Brussels, San Bernardino, etc.). And with the creation of radical groups like Al Queda and the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), its popularity is rising and its reach is global.

And to make matters worse, the U.S. over the last few decades has spent blood and treasure trying to defeat it with little success; no matter whose been in charge. Every time we cut off the head of this snake another one grows. It almost appears as if it is invincible. Why does it appear this way and what is the problem with defeating it?

The answer is right in front of our nose but few have the courage to see it and even fewer have the courage to tackle it.

It is so rare that the election of a political leader in one country should have consequences that change another. But what we have seen with Donald Trump’s victory is a shockwave which has awoken a sleeping giant of conservativism. And along with it, a resurgence of sovereign traditions. Feeding off of a Trump victory, surging French presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has erased a double-digit lead from embattled establishment conservative François Fillon and three other liberal candidates. She is now on top of the polls and with her conservative popularity growing, could be a significant change for France. But don’t expect it to stop here. Its effect will be felt across Europe and possibly the world?

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This is a redo of a previous blog I wrote about the security issues inside Afghanistan. I initially used personal accounts to paint a picture of the problems I witnessed during my military tour in 2005. However, with President Trump’s most recent speech laying out a potential shift in American Afghan policy, I felt compelled to […]